Time request queue

ABSTRACT

A group scheduling solution offers an organized and formalized solution to the time management problem in which the desired meeting includes one person who is difficult to schedule. In the inventive approach, a scheduling system is provided in which a hard-to-schedule attendee takes over responsibility for setting the start time of an event. In the invention, a workflow is provided, in which the organizer sends a request to the hard-to-schedule person. The request preferably contains the desired duration of the meeting. The request may contain a list of attendees, location, and other details. These requests are maintained in a queue for the hard-to-schedule person. Batching requests in a queue is a key feature of the invention. The hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy, can then review these requests and select a suitable time for the meeting, set this time in a meeting request, thereby causing an update to be sent back to the organizer and the other attendees, thus indicating the appointed time for the meeting. The organizer of the meeting can still update the meeting details, etc. However, any changes in the start time or the duration of the meeting must be made by the hard-to-schedule person or their proxy. The hard-to-schedule person can also decline the meeting entirely.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] The invention relates to the scheduling of meetings. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a time request queue forscheduling a meeting with a hard-to-schedule person.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] There are people in every organization with whom it is verydifficult to schedule time. Typically, these people have administrativeassistants that manage their time. Though group-scheduling softwareexists today, booking a meeting with these hard-to-schedule peopletypically requires contacting the administrative assistant by somealternate mechanism, such as telephone or email, and then requesting themeeting to be scheduled. This is not a big problem in isolation. But asmany such meeting requests pile up, considerable time is spent by theadministrative assistant in managing the requests and allotting time foreach request. Should the scheduled time need to change, as it oftendoes, a lot of time is spent trying to communicate the change of plansto those affected.

[0005] Currently, in group scheduling software a meeting organizer fillsout a meeting request by proposing a date and time for the event to alist of attendees who, in turn, accept or decline the request. In allcommercial group scheduling software today, the organizer is the onlyperson who can set any detail of the meeting, i.e. the start time, theduration, the meeting title, the descriptive text, etc.

[0006] It would be advantageous to provide a group scheduling solutionthat offers an organized and formalized solution to the above describedtime management problem, in which the desired meeting includes oneperson who is difficult to schedule.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The presently preferred embodiment of the invention provides agroup scheduling solution that offers an organized and formalizedsolution to the time management problem above mentioned, in which thedesired meeting includes one person who is difficult to schedule. In theinventive approach, a scheduling system is provided in which ahard-to-schedule attendee takes over responsibility for setting thestart time of an event.

[0008] In the invention, a workflow is provided as follows:

[0009] The organizer sends a request to the hard-to-schedule person. Therequest preferably contains the desired duration of the meeting. Therequest may contain a list of attendees, location, and other details.

[0010] These requests are maintained in a queue for the hard-to-scheduleperson. Batching requests in a queue is a key feature of the invention.The hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy, can then review theserequests and select a suitable time for the meeting, set this time in ameeting request, thereby causing an update to be sent back to theorganizer and the other attendees, thus indicating the appointed timefor the meeting.

[0011] The organizer of the meeting can still update the meetingdetails, etc. However, any changes in the start time or the duration ofthe meeting must be made by the hard-to-schedule person or their proxy.

[0012] Note: The hard-to-schedule person can also decline the meetingentirely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the scheduling of a meeting usinga time request queue according to the invention; and

[0014]FIG. 2 is an illustration of a screen display for a calendar andtimer request queue according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The presently preferred embodiment of the invention replacesstate of the art group scheduling software, in which a meeting organizerfills out a meeting request by proposing a date and time for the eventto a list of attendees who, in turn, accept or decline the request, witha new approach in which the hard-to-schedule attendee takes overresponsibility for setting the start time of the event.

[0016]FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the scheduling of a meeting usinga time request queue according to the invention.

[0017] The preferred workflow is as follows:

[0018] The organizer 100 sends a request to the hard-to-schedule person105, e.g. a vice president of the company. The request must contain thedesired duration of the meeting, e.g. one hour. The request may containthe list of attendees, the location, and other details.

[0019] These requests are maintained in a queue for the hard-to-scheduleperson 110. The hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy, e.g. anadministrative assistant, can then review these requests and select asuitable time for the meeting 115, e.g. 10:00 AM Monday, set this timein the meeting request 120, causing an update 125 to be sent back to theorganizer and the other attendees indicating the appointed time 130.

[0020] The organizer of the meeting can still update the meetingdetails, etc. 130, for example to add attendees or change the conferenceroom location of the meeting, and the meeting can proceed as scheduled135. However, any change to the start time or duration of the meeting140 must be made by the hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy 110.

[0021] The hard-to-schedule person can also decline the meetingentirely.

EXAMPLE

[0022] Step 1

[0023] Bill wants to set up a meeting with a couple of people on histeam and with Joe, a hard-to-schedule vice-president. Bill goes into thecalendar/scheduling program and creates the special time request. It iscreated very much like any other meeting, except that a specific startdate/time is not set. Bill adds himself, his team, and Joe as attendeesof the meeting. Bill indicates that the meeting will take one hour. Billalso marks Joe as a special attendee who can set the meeting time.

[0024] Step 2

[0025] After Bill creates the time request, it shows up on Joe'scalendar. Time requests are collected and held until the attendee whocan set the meeting time does so. FIG. 2 is an illustration of a screendisplay for a calendar and timer request queue according to theinvention. On the left side 14 of the screen 10 is a view of two days,though it could be any of a variety of schedule views provided bycalendar applications, such as a day, a week, or a month. It is shown asa reference to what meetings are currently scheduled.

[0026] On the right side 12 of the screen is a list of the time requeststhat have not yet been assigned a specific time. The list shows thelength of time requested, the requester, and the title of the meeting.Bill's meeting is highlighted by clicking it. The meeting request couldbe dragged and dropped onto the left side of the screen to assign it toa particular time or it could be double-clicked to bring up a moredetailed dialog box in which the time can be set. Once the time requesthas been assigned a timeslot, it moves out of the time requests list andinto the schedule.

[0027] Step 3

[0028] Joe schedules the request for 11:30 on Wednesday, October 31.Once this is done, Bill is alerted that his time request has beenscheduled. The meeting request now shows up in all the attendees'schedules at the appointed time.

[0029] Many variants of the invention are contemplated. For example, itis often the case that an administrative assistant handles thescheduling requests and manages the calendars of others. The timerequest queue can be managed by an administrative assistant. Anotherembodiment involves varying the specific details that thehard-to-schedule attendee can set. For instance, it may be that the inaddition to the start time, the location for the meeting is also set bythe hard-to-schedule attendee.

[0030] There are also other usage scenarios. For example, a person whowants to take his car in for a checkup. Typically, there are certainpreferences that the repair shop has, such as the shop's hours ofoperation and/or workload, subject to some of the preferences of theperson who is arranging to take in his car, such as the time of day ofday of week. The invention is applicable to the scheduling of anappointment with the repair shop, or any other service. Thus, the personwho desires an appointment for service need only submit a request to thetime request queue, and an appointment is scheduled based upon theschedule of the service, or alternatively based upon the preferences ofthe customer. This could include such things as setting an appointmentto get a hair cut, where the appointment must be Tuesday nights betweencertain times.

[0031] The invention seeks to satisfy the customer preferences and theservice's schedule, relative to these criteria. Thus, the hard toschedule individual, for example a doctor, can set a time and/or place,but subject to various requirements of the requestor. In such case, theneeds of both parties may not overlap and the meeting may not takeplace. In such case, the requestor may provide alternatives or may rankhis preferences to help accommodate the needs of the difficult toschedule person. Further, the hard to schedule person may have someflexibility in his schedule and could provide the requester with one ormore alternatives, such as different times, days, and/or locations. Theinvention also supports a collaborative agenda, where the hard toschedule person may receive a proposed agenda with the request, and insetting the meeting time and/or place, may include a revised agenda withthe meeting notice sent to each attendee.

[0032] Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1. An apparatus for scheduling a meeting) via a time request queue,comprising: a mechanism for receiving at least one request to attend ameeting that is directed to a hard-to-schedule person; a mechanism formaintaining said at least one request for review; a mechanism for saidhard-to-schedule person or their proxy to select a desired time toattend said meeting; a mechanism for setting a meeting request; amechanism for updating said meeting request; and a mechanism for sendingsaid updated meeting request to a meeting requestor and any othermeeting attendees.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said requestcontains a desired duration of said meeting.
 3. The apparatus of claim1, wherein said request contains any of a list of attendees, a location,and other details.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: amechanism for said meeting requestor to update meeting details.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein said mechanism for said meeting requestorto update meeting details comprises a mechanism for any of addingattendees and changing a location of said meeting.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein any change to any of a start time and a duration ofsaid meeting must be made by said hard-to-schedule person, or theirproxy.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said hard-to-schedule personcan decline said meeting entirely.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinmeeting requests are collected and held until said hard-to-scheduleperson or their proxy sets a meeting time.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: a display for representing said time request queue.10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said display comprises: at leastone schedule view for providing a reference to what meetings arecurrently scheduled; and a list of time requests that have not yet beenassigned a specific time.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein saidlist shows any of a length of time requested, a requester, and a titleof said meeting.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a meetingrequest is dragged from said list and dropped onto said at least oneschedule view to assign it to a particular time.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein a meeting request is double-clicked to bring up a moredetailed dialog box in which a time can be set.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein once a time request has been assigned a timeslot, itis moved from said time requests list and into said at least oneschedule view.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, once a timerequest is scheduled, said meeting request is displayed in at least oneschedule view for each attendee.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinan appointment is additionally scheduled based upon preferences of ameeting requester.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said meetingrequestor provides any of alternatives and a ranking of preferences tohelp accommodate the needs of said difficult-to-schedule person.
 18. Amethod for scheduling a meeting via a time request queue, comprising thesteps of: receiving at least one request to attend a meeting that isdirected to a hard-to-schedule person; maintaining said at least onerequest for review; said hard-to-schedule person or their proxyselecting a desired time to attend said meeting; setting a meetingrequest; updating said meeting request; and sending said updated meetingrequest to a meeting requestor and any other meeting attendees.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein said request contains a desired duration ofsaid meeting.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said request containsany of a list of attendees, a location, and other details.
 21. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising the step of: said meetingrequestor updating meeting details.
 22. The method of claim 21, whereinsaid updating by said meeting requestor comprises the step of any ofadding attendees and changing a location of said meeting.
 23. The methodof claim 18, wherein any change to any of a start time and a duration ofsaid meeting must be made by said hard-to-schedule person, or theirproxy.
 24. The method of claim 18, wherein said hard-to-schedule personcan decline said meeting entirely.
 25. The method of claim 18, whereinmeeting requests are collected and held until said hard-to-scheduleperson or their proxy sets a meeting time.
 26. The method of claim 18,further comprising the step of: providing a display for representingsaid time request queue.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein saiddisplay comprises: at least one schedule view for providing a referenceto what meetings are currently scheduled; and a list of time requeststhat have not yet been assigned a specific time.
 28. The method of claim27, wherein said list shows any of a length of time requested, arequester, and a title of said meeting.
 29. The method of claim 27,wherein a meeting request is dragged from said list and dropped ontosaid at least one schedule view to assign it to a particular time. 30.The method of claim 27, wherein a meeting request is double-clicked tobring up a more detailed dialog box in which a time can be set.
 31. Themethod of claim 27, wherein once a time request has been assigned atimeslot, it is moved from said time requests list and into said atleast one schedule view.
 32. The method of claim 27, wherein, once atime request is scheduled, said meeting request is displayed in at leastone schedule view for each attendee.
 33. The method of claim 18, whereinan appointment is additionally scheduled based upon preferences of ameeting requester.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein said meetingrequestor provides any of alternatives and a ranking of preferences tohelp accommodate the needs of said difficult-to-schedule person.